The electronic programming guide will have facilities like parental control (children can't access to certain locked channels) and enable customers to know what is happening across the channels in the network. A co-branded Star TV and Hathway TV-enabled portal is being developed. An aggregation of content from the Star TV-invested portals like indya.com and e-gurucool.com will be built for broadband delivery through cable. The bundle of services will also provide for e-mail facilities and e-shopping. "We will be tying up with retail stores and various products for e-commerce activities," said Mr Jayaraman.

A team from Star TV and Hathway has been formed to conceptualise and execute the project. Star TV's representatives comprise members from the broadband and new media. James Murdoch and Bruce Churchill are in the board of directors. Altaf Ali Mohammed has recently shifted from Hong Kong to head the broadband and direct-to-home operations for Star TV in India. Star TV and Hathway have already floated a global tender to get a supply of set top boxes. "We hope to place the order by December-end. We are looking at a manufacturer who has service centres in the country and can also provide us with a flexible pricing. Though we will be initially importing the boxes, we are exploring the possibility of a local vendor development in future," Mr Jayaraman said.